College basketball: Three takeaways from Iona's 78-55 win over Niagara

NEW ROCHELLE - On numerous occasions this season, the Iona Gaels have found themselves sweating out games and squeezing out wins in crucial late-game moments.

After a double-digit win over rival Manhattan on Friday night, the Gaels followed up with another comfortable win on Sunday, defeating visiting Niagara, 78-55.

The win marks Iona's second win by 20-plus points, in a season that had been filled with plenty of dramatics.

"We just don't want to make it come down to like the Saint Louis game, where it comes to one possession," Iona guard Berrick JeanLouis said. "We're tired of those games. I feel like beginning of the season, we had too many of those games. I feel like we just have to start putting our foot down and breaking a lead, and getting out and finishing strong."

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The Gaels never trailed the Purple Eagles for the entire game, but there were stretches where Niagara managed to keep it close.

Iona took a 36-26 halftime lead, a margin that dwindled as low as six, as the Purple Eagles tried to fight back during a four-minute cold-shooting stretch where the Gaels shot 0-for-9 to start the second half.

Iona was able to break the slump with a 7-0 run by Tyson Jolly, and then the Gaels shot 58% as a team for the remainder of the game.

"I was really pleased because they're a team that hangs with everybody, and we made our run and opened it up, but we never relented and let them in the game," Iona coach Rick Pitino said. "Usually a team has a run, but we never let them had their run. That's good defense."

Iona outrebounded Niagara, 48-34, and it held the Purple Eagles to shooting just 35.7% for the entire game.

Jolly finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. JeanLouis had 10 points, seven boards and four assists. Quinn Slazinski had 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting with five boards and two steals. Ryan Myers added 10 points off the bench.

For Niagara, Marcus Hammond paced the Purple Eagles with 17 points and five boards. Noah Thomasson added 11 points and five assists.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Osborn Shema's return

It hasn't been an easy journey back for Shema, who was initially expected to be out for the season.

"I wasn't sure he'd ever come back," Pitino said. "He comes in at 180 pounds, and he has a piece fall off his groin, and a piece fall off his hip. ... I never thought he'd come back. It's so pleasing that he's back."

The 7-foot-1 center has played in four games since returning for the start of the New Year, but Sunday was the first time he truly got to make his mark on the court.

Shema played 13 quality minutes off the bench and provided an offensive spark when starter Nelly Junior Joseph was struggling to get going on the scoring end. Shema provided nine points, including highlight dunks, with four rebounds and a block.

"I first injured my knee in July, and I was out for like three months," Shema said. "My first practice back, I injured my hip, so that took some time. I rehabbed every day to try and get back. It feels good to be back."

Bench boost

Aside from Shema, the Gaels got great production from their bench overall. Iona had 26 of its 78 points come from its reserves.

It also outscored Niagara's bench, which only generated 10 points for the game.

Myers had eight of his 10 points in the second half, which was an important lift with Walter Clayton Jr. out for Sunday. Versatile big man Dylan van Eyck chipped in seven points.

"Tyson was decent, but not even close to Ryan Myers, Osborn Shema, and Berrick JeanLouis — I thought they were the stars of the game," Pitino said. "First thing anybody would say is, 'Whoa, look at Tyson's numbers, let's bring him up.' But he wasn't the key to the game."

Iona stays unbeaten in MAAC play

The standards are high for Iona this season, but the Gaels hope to do something that no other team has.

"We're just trying to go hard in practice, go hard in games, and be the first MAAC team to go undefeated," JeanLouis said. "That's the goal. We'll be the first to do that, and just be ready for March."

Iona has escaped with a win in close games, but so far, it has an unblemished 6-0 record in conference play. That record will be put to the test moving forward, as the Gaels will have five of their next seven games on the road, including the back-to-back road trips coming up against Monmouth and Quinnipiac.

"I think we had a very strong home court advantage," Pitino said, whose Gaels are undefeated at home this season. "I know we didn't have a lot of people here today, but the people that do show up are very much into the game. ... I'm thankful for the people that do show up, give us a pretty strong home court advantage, and we've played really, really well at home."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: College basketball: Three takeaways from Iona's 78-55 win over Niagara